A restrictive covenant is a provision in an employee’s contract with his or her employer that specifies a limitation—of a specified time, scope and geographic area—on the ability of the employee to work in the same occupation or profession upon termination of employment. Depending upon their reasonableness and compliance with specified legal standards that will be described in this article, restrictive covenants are enforceable in New York.
Where an employer finds it necessary to enforce a restrictive covenant against a former employee, and where irreparable injury arguably stems from the former employee’s violation of the restrictive covenant, the employer can seek immediate relief in the form of a preliminary injunction enjoining the former employee from working at the new place of employment. This request for relief coexists with the employer’s lawsuit for money damages and a permanent injunction against the former employee.
